Poppy Factory Celebrates Living Wage Commitment

The Lady Haig Poppy Factory is delighted to announce we have become accredited as Living Wage Employer. Our team of 41 Armed Forces veterans hand assemble more than five million poppies and 12,000 wreaths every year and will now benefit by this initiative.

The Lady Haig Poppy Factory commitment to the Living Wage will ensure that all staff – regardless of whether they are direct employees or working on a third-party contractual basis will receive a minimum hourly wage of £8.45. This rate is significantly higher than the statutory minimum rate for over-25s of £7.50 per hour introduced earlier this year.

Charlie Pelling, Manager at the Poppy Factory, said: “We are delighted to be formally recognised as an accredited Living Wage Employer. This demonstrates our continuing commitment to providing dignity through work to disabled ex-Servicemen and Servicewomen who might otherwise struggle to find meaningful employment.”

Peter Kelly, Director of the Poverty Alliance, added: “The real Living Wage is one of the key tools at our disposal to help make an impact on levels of in-work poverty in Scotland. There is a strong business case for paying the Living Wage, but, crucially, it allows those in work to become more included in society, better provide for their families, and feel that their value and hard work is recognised by their employer.
“We are delighted to congratulate Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory on becoming a Living Wage employer, joining the growing movement of 800-plus companies in Scotland who want to go further than the government minimum and recognise that Living Wage accreditation is the mark of a responsible employer. I hope more organisations follow their lead by becoming accredited.”
More than 25,000 people in Scotland have had a pay rise thanks to the real Living Wage initiative and 820 employers headquartered in Scotland have become accredited. The accreditation programme in Scotland, which was launched in April 2014, is an initiative from The Poverty Alliance, in partnership with the Living Wage Foundation, and is funded by the Scottish Government. The real Living Wage is an hourly rate set independently and updated annually, and is calculated according to the real costs of living.

This means The Lady Haig Poppy Factory has undertaken and completed the Disability Confident self-assessment and we are taking all the core actions to be a Disability Confident employer. By being a Disability Confident Employer are ensuring that disabled people and those with long term health conditions have the opportunities to fulfil their potential and realise their aspirations.

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The Lady Haig Poppy Factory, Scottish Charity No SCO 16682, a Company limited by shares is registered in Scotland No 194803 at 9 Warriston Road, Edinburgh EH7 4HJ. Lady Haig's Poppy Factory is a trading name. The Lady Haig Poppy Factory is a subsidiary of Poppyscotland, Scottish Charity No SCO 14096, a company limited by guarantee. Registered in Scotland No 194893 at New Haig House, Logie Green Road, Edinburgh EH7 4HQ. Both are members of The Royal British Legion group of charities, Charity Registration No 219279. Haig House, 199 Borough High Street, London SE1 1AA
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